


everything is fine, just trust me

by mypetersburg



Category: New Girl
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, I Wrote This Late, Missing Scene, Nick is Greiving, and BAD at handling that, but immensely enjoyed writing it, he is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25502845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mypetersburg/pseuds/mypetersburg
Summary: Jess is sitting on the couch, eating ice cream at ten in the morning (Schmidt had literally gagged when he saw her), when Nick comes through the door, looking for all the world like he’s been dragged through hell.OR- The one where Nick copes. A missing scene, set during "Chicago", just before the gang leaves to Chicago for the funeral. Nick talking through his father's death.
Relationships: Jessica Day & Nick Miller, Jessica Day/Nick Miller
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64





	everything is fine, just trust me

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! FIRST New Girl fic, which is absurd, considering how much I love the show!  
> Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this bad boy! I certainly enjoyed writing it, and really hope that I nailed the voices and characters in a way that did them justice.  
> Thank you for checking this out! Hope you like it!

It happens, as most big events do, unceremoniously.

Jess is sitting on the couch, eating ice cream at ten in the morning (Schmidt had literally _gagged_ when he saw her), when Nick comes through the door, looking for all the world like he’s been dragged through hell.

“Hey,” Jess says brightly, watching him. “What time did you get up?”

“Early.” He looks around, almost manic, then sighs loudly. “Want to go somewhere?”

“Where?”

“Anywhere. I don’t care.”

“Nick, is everything all right?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” He sighs again, runs a hand over his face. “Just- just…will you come with me? Please?”

They’re supposed to be packing. They’re supposed to be going to Chicago tomorrow, they’re supposed to have an early dinner and argue about what time to go to the airport. Nick, clearly, does _not_ want that. And Jess likes structure, and Jess likes order, but she also hates seeing Nick this upset, so.

She sets her ice cream on the side table and slowly stands, keeping her eyes on him.

“Nick?” She asks again, thinking of the way he kissed her. Of the way his face crumbled last night. Of the way he looks on the brink of _dissolving_.

He doesn’t respond, and she doesn’t expect him to.

“Just a drive, right?” She asks, and he shrugs, shaking his head.

“I just need something. A drive, lunch, _something_.” He turns away, and she hurries to slip on her shoes and out of the door, hot on his heels. She follows him into the elevator, and neither of them comment on how misty his eyes suddenly look.

-

In the car, he’s quiet. He isn’t Nick Quiet, he’s just _quiet_. It’s sad, it’s tense, and Jess keeps awkwardly talking to fill it.

“Remember when he conned me into buying that horse?” She asks suddenly, laughter bubbling up in her chest, and Nick smashes his foot down on the brake and stops the car hard. It throws her forward, caught by the tight restriction of her seat belt, and her heart pounds at the shock of it all.

Jess thanks God that they’re on a quiet side road, and then she turns to openly gape at him.

“Nick, what the hell?”

“My dad sucked.” He says, matter of fact, and then hits his hand hard against the steering wheel. She thinks that maybe he’ll swear, or shout, but he doesn’t.

He hits the steering wheel hard, just once, then his mouth tightens into a hard line and he stares straight ahead. Jess thinks that maybe, just maybe, she should speak.

“Uh-” She dumbly starts, and he mercifully talks right over her.

“He was the worst, wasn’t he?” He asks, breathing out a humorless chuckle, and Jess sighs, reaching over to slide her hand over his.

“Nick,” she starts, and then takes a deep breath. “Your father might’ve been…bad in some ways, but you loved him.”

“I loved O.J., and then he killed his wife.”

“O.J. and your dad are different, Nick.”

“How?” He asks desperately, and in another situation, she might’ve laughed. “Seriously. _How_? Because on both sides, I see a man who failed his family!”

“Let’s erase O.J. from the equation. That is not helping us here.”

“I just-” Nick cuts himself off with a harsh breath, and Jess squeezes his hand tight. “My dad did a lot of things wrong.”

“Yeah, I can agree with you there.”

“But he was my _dad_.”

“Everyone’s got one.”

“I feel like I shouldn’t talk badly on a dead guy.”

“You _should_ process what you’re feeling, though.” She tells him, watching his side profile. He’s still staring daggers through the windshield, so she takes a moment to appreciate his nose, the curve of his jaw.

“Yeah.” He finally breathes. “Yeah, I probably should.”

“Nick, do you want to-”

“Let’s just get food, and then pretend this never happened.”

“It’s barely eleven in the morning, and we should really have these emotional conversations,” Jess says, only a touch loftily, and then Nick has suddenly turned his head, has suddenly leaned into her personal space, and her face has suddenly gone red.

“Stop me or I’m going to-”

Jess leans forward, closes the distance, and kisses him, effectively cutting him off.

His nose bumps hers, and she thinks that he has tears on his cheeks, but his mouth is warm, warm, warm. His breath sort of smells like a croissant, and she laughs against his him, maneuvering around in the tiny front seat to thread her hands through the hair at the back of his neck.

Suddenly, the car jerks forward, and they both pull apart. She’s blushing, she thinks, and she doesn’t even care.

“It wasn’t- uh, it wasn’t in park.” He says dumbly, swiping hard at his eyes.

They’re still in the middle of the road, watching each other, his foot pressed down hard on the brake.

“That’s okay.” She smiles and really, really means it. “Do you want to talk about your dad?”

“I don’t know. I just…I just want to get a taco made with questionable meat and go home.”

“That’s okay, too,” Jess assures him, and doesn’t know if she should reach over to hold his hand.

She doesn’t, but she reaches up and touches his cheek, using her thumb to swipe at a tear. To her surprise, he doesn't jerk away. Just leans into her palm, closes his eyes for a moment, and breathes.

“Nick,” she starts, and then her throat closes and she loses the ability to speak for a moment.

“Yeah?” He asks, and his voice sounds a little less raw, a little less damaged.

“Did…did this help? At all?”

“I think so.” He says, and she thinks he means it. “You’re…you’re a good listener, Jess.”

She smiles privately at that, though she didn’t do much listening. Slowly, he slides his foot off the brake and onto the gas, and they move.

It’s quiet for a few moments, and then he reaches over and clumsily takes her hand. She grins to herself, laces her fingers through his, and squeezes tight.

“I’m always here, whenever you need a listener. I’m really sorry, Nick. He loved you.”

“You don’t know that,” he says, pulling a U-turn through a gas station parking lot. She frowns, hating that Nick has these preconceived notions in his head that the world is against him, that no one on it loves him.

“It was obvious. He might have disappointed you, and he might have been shitty, but…he loved you. He did.”

“Huh.” He says softly, a tiny smile gracing his lips. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”

He exits back to the freeway, and she tilts her head back against his seat and watches him, hunting for the nearest Taco Bell.

It happens unceremoniously, the way she realizes she might love Nick. It happens in his car, and ten fifty-five in the morning, with the worst possible timing.

But it happens, and Jess thinks that that’s what matters above all. _Knows_ that’s what matters, as she watches the brightness slowly slip back into his eyes, hoping that all will be well in Chicago tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope this was a pleasant read for you!!!  
> Kudos and comments are never expected but always appreciated. Let me know if you'd like to see more New Girl, and stay safe out there!


End file.
